2021 Spotlight Series
Community Engagement and Collaboration for Exhibit Planning
Emily Donovan, NPS, Lowell National Historical Park
Tuesday, March 30, 2:00-3:30 PM EDT

Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts is working with its communities to co-create a new exhibition in the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center, which will replace the existing exhibit about immigration and more completely tell the stories of cultural changes in the city.
“Lowell is a microcosm of the historical and contemporary shifting of cultural identities and tensions brought about by broader social changes such as industrialization, urbanization, and globalization.”
- What stories would you tell about a diverse and changing community?
- How would you decide which stories to include?
- What would successful community engagement, collaboration, and co-creation look like?
- How do you balance stakeholder, staff, and community perspectives in an collaboratively designed project?
Presented by Emily Donovan, NPS, Park Ranger, Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell, MA
Facilitated by Anne Desmarais, Director, Partnership and Community Collaboration Academy.
This link will open in a new window. Press the play button to begin the webinar. Turn up your computer speakers.
You may wish to skip from 2:55 to 9:00 as we resolved some technical issues around the chat box function.
This webinar was recorded on March 30, 2021.
Presentation:
- Community Engagement and Collaboration for Exhibit Planning (PDF )
Additional Resources:
- Lowell National Historical Park
- The Wing Luke Museum of Asian Pacific American Experience: Community-Curated Exhibits
- Training and Advising – Sites of Conscience, International Sites of Conscience
- The Participatory Museum, Nina Simon
- The Art of Relevance, Nina Simon
- StoryCorps: Stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefs
- The Moth: The Art and Craft of Storytelling
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StoryCorps – Stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefshttps://storycorps.org/The Moth | The Art and Craft of Storytellinghttps://themoth.org/

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Managing by Network: Spotlight Series
Broaden your awareness of opportunities for partnership and community collaboration.
The Academy's Spotlight Series features federal programs and initiatives that highlight innovative ideas and partnerships. Webinars are led by Guest Speakers from the Academy.
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